


it was supposed to be a bachelor pad

by Toe



Category: Zero Escape (Video Games)
Genre: M/M, Roommates, au where everything is more or less normal after the second nonary game, there's some junpei/akane in there but junpei. struggles.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 09:09:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16807654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toe/pseuds/Toe
Summary: Junpei and Aoi both wanted to keep Akane close after the nonary game, but Akane wanted space. Their compromise was to get neighboring apartments.





	it was supposed to be a bachelor pad

**Author's Note:**

  * For [malachibi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/malachibi/gifts).



> for malachibi! i never really considered this pairing before, but the fluffy arts were so much fun to write. i hope i did their dynamic justice! enjoy!!

Junpei hesitated at the threshold of his new apartment. His new living room was completely empty, nothing more than cream walls and a cream carpet, but nonetheless, he couldn't stop staring at it. This was his home now.

It was terrifying to think about how he had to build a life for himself from scratch. He knew better than to trust himself with any responsibility, but he couldn't stand the thought of living far away from Akane, not after all they had been through. He had to grow as a person at some point, anyway.

At least he would be sharing the space with Aoi. What little Junpei knew about him said that he might not be a good roommate, but despite the fact that he barely knew the guy, it calmed his nerves somewhat to know that he wouldn't be alone.

Junpei tooka quick stroll through the apartment. He didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved when he found the place completely empty.

Junpei had scattered half of the contents of three different boxes on the floor when he was interrupted by the door rattling. “Is that my new roomie slash best friend? Welcome home!” he shouted.

“Jesus fucking fuck, guy. You just had to start this off on a sour note, didn’t you?” Aoi groused, his voice growing more clear as he approached before he and his scowl appeared in Junpei’s doorway. He stared down his nose at Junpei, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor surrounded by a semicircle of clothes, of which only a modest fraction were properly folded.

Junpei grinned. For some reason, the way Aoi’s face twisted with disgust lifted his spirits. “That’s a trick question. We both know you’re the only sourpuss here.”

“Yeah, yeah. You can’t--”

Whatever cutting remark Aoi would have made ended abruptly at a cry from Akane, who skipped into the room. “Jumpy! You’re here!”

Junpei stood awkwardly. It felt natural enough when Aoi looked down at him, but Akane was different. “Uh. Hi. How are you liking your new place?”

“Enough space from the two of us?” Aoi snarked. Both he and Junpei had wanted to move in with her after the nonary game, to look after her so that they could be sure she was real and she was there. She didn’t care for the idea. Having neighboring apartments was their compromise.

Akane cuffed her brother lightly on the head. “I like my new place just fine, thank you.”

“Any chance I could get a tour? I’ve always been curious about what your bedroom looks like,” Junpei said.

“Oh, like hell.” Aoi took a step forward until he was half shielding Akane. “She just finished giving me a tour. You can go back to cataloguing your jumpsuits or whatever it is you’re doing here.”

Akane smiled, ignoring his hostility. “Why don’t I make you guys dinner tonight? I’m sure you’ll be too busy to set up your kitchen and get groceries, and you can see my place then.”

\--

Akane, instead of cooking like she had promised, ordered a pizza. She gave an embarrassed giggle and admitted that she wasn’t much of a cook, and it was hard to be disappointed with her. The trio filled the night with small talk and dumb jokes and laughter that was all one step divorced from reality. 

Junpei didn’t expect every conversation of theirs to be about the nonary game. He didn’t want every conversation to be about it, but they didn’t mention it at all. Everything about his life had changed because of that day, and now, back in a more normal context, he wasn’t sure who he was supposed to be. It made it hard to look Akane in the eye. She was the one who did this to him, and it was hard to reconcile that with his childhood love.

Junpei kept joking. The unease would fade, and when it did, Akane would be next to him.

\--

Junpei paused partway through his rendition of a Britney Spears song, straining to make out Aoi’s voice on the other side of the door through the sounds of the shower. “What?”

“I said I’m coming in. You’re taking too long,” Aoi grumbled as he pushed his way into the room.

“My, how scandalous,” Junpei said, and though it was a joke, he was suddenly much more conscious of every move and every sound he made.

“Yeah, well, maybe if you didn’t have to run through the entire discography of some popstar or whoever, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“You can’t seriously pretend you don’t know who Britney Spears is. I won’t be fooled.”

The only response was the sound of toothbrush bristles.

Junpei started quietly singing Toxic, as much for himself as for spite. He choked when Aoi’s off-key humming joined in.

\--

“So hey. There’s something that’s been weighing on my mind recently,” Aoi said as he marched into Junpei’s room.

Junpei shut his laptop and swiveled his chair around. “What’s up?”

“It’s this.” He gestured at Junpei, indicating his entire body.

“I understand. I’m on a lot of people’s minds,” Junpei said with a wink.

“Shut your trap, trucknuts, I’m talking about your wardrobe. I can hardly bear looking at it.” Without an invitation, Aoi opened Junpei’s closet and began piling all the offending clothes onto his bed. “What’s with the color of these jackets? It’s a like a toddler shat out a Crayola sixty-four pack.”

Junpei watched Aoi in action. Maybe he was supposed to protest, to bodily block Aoi’s attacks on his clothes, but he, for once, agreed with Aoi. It was time for a change. “Yeah, well, we can’t all be boring like you, Mr. Monochrome.”

“And this?” Aoi held Junpei’s blue puffy vest aloft by its hanger, giving it an emphatic shake. “I don’t get it, are you cold or not? Fucking pointless.”

“Sounds like the pot calling the kettle black, Mr. Tank Top And Scarves.”

“Yeah, well, shut the fuck up, Mr. Shut The Fuck Up. It’s called accessorizing.” Aoi pulled every last piece of clothing from Junpei’s closet, sorting them into piles without saying a word. 

“Do you want help?” Junpei asked.

“Ha. Like I’d trust you to help.” He held aloft a pair of orange cargo shorts. “Wish I had my lighter on me. I’d burn this piece of shit right where I stand. Seriously, I don’t understand how you managed to accumulate this much ugly crap.”

Junpei looked guiltily at the tallest pile, which he knew even without an explanation was for clothing Aoi deemed unworthy. Some of it made sense; bad gifts from grandma and clearance rack finds, but some of the pieces seemed perfectly acceptable. “So what wouldn’t you consider ugly?”

“Huh.” Aoi stopped for a minute, running a hand over the shorter piles. “You know, you’d look good in black.”

Aoi became suddenly fascinated with the wrinkles on one of Junpei’s shirts, but even though his face was half turned away, Junpei didn’t miss the flush that colored his cheeks.

\--

Akane answered the door, observing Junpei with a sly smile. He’d be leaving for his real interview after a practice interview with her, so he was dressed in a black button down shirt with a maroon tie. Aoi had been right; the understated colors suited him well. Made his face look sharper and his eyes more intense. “Mr. Tenmyouji. Come in.”

“Thanks for doing this,” Junpei said.

“There’s no need for thanks, young man. It’s our pleasure to be able to interview such a promising candidate as yourself.” She guided him into her living room, where she had set two chairs opposite each other in front of her coffee table. “Have a seat.”

“Oh, uh. Right.” Junpei only stumbled over his own feet a little as he claimed his chair.

Akane smiled behind her hand. “Seriously, though, it’s no trouble. And you have nothing to be nervous about. You’re going to blow them away.”

“Right. Right,” Junpei repeated.

“You know, I could always beam you the answers through the morphogenetic field. You helped me out when I was in a tight spot, so it’s only fair that I pay you back.”

Junpei frowned at her, trying to make sense of the offer. He wasn’t taking some exam; He didn’t need her to tell him how to answer questions about himself.

A second too late, he realized she had been joking. She laughed. “Kidding.”

“Right.”

Akane cleared her throat, straightened her back, and folded her hands in her lap. With an exaggeratedly professional voice, she said, “So, Mr. Tenmyouji, tell me about yourself.”

\--

Junpei stared at the lightly simmering water and pretended he had laser vision. If he focused on it long enough, he could make it boil. Whoever said the old adage about a watched pot never had laser beams for eyes.

Aoi’s phone buzzed in the living room and he muted the crime drama he was watching. “‘Kane wants to drop by. Think you can triple whatever you’re making now?”

“Sure can,” Junpei called.

“Wait, are you making something that’s actually good?” Aoi asked.

"Many would say it's finely kraft-ed.” Junpei was lucky that Aoi couldn’t see his silly grin.

“Huh.” A beat. “Wait, was that a Kraft mac n cheese pun?”

“It’s a Kraft mac n cheese pun.”

“Fucker.”

The water started bubbling and Junpei turned the heat on the stove down a tick. “Still want me to make more? I’ve got, like, nine boxes.”

“Whatever. Not like we need to impress her.”

Junpei added more water to the pot and started the process of boiling it over again.

Akane arrived just as Junpei was pouring orange powder into the pot. He perked up and turned toward the door, sending fake cheese skittering over the countertop. “There you are! Right on schedule.”

“Hey,” Aoi called in greeting without moving from the couch.

“What can I say? I have an impeccable sense of timing,” Akane said. She looked at the spilled powder. “Do you need help?”

“I wouldn’t say no to having a gorgeous assistant.”

She swatted him playfully on the shoulder as she pushed past him to grab a rag.

Once they had all been served a generous helping of macaroni and were sitting at the table, a hush fell over the room.

“So uh. Let’s take turns talking. I can go first,” Junpei suggested.

Aoi rolled his eyes. “Right, like we need to hear more of your voice. Kanny, what about you?”

Akane nodded and pursed her lips in thought. “Junpei had a very good interview today,” she said.

Junpei flashed her a look. “That’s an odd assumption considering I haven’t told you anything about it yet.”

“You didn’t need to.” Akane smiled in a way that should have been sweet, but instead made Junpei’s stomach drop.

"I didn't?" His gaze lingered on her face as he struggled to parse the meaning of his emotions. They had a psychic connection. That should have made it easier for him to be with her, should have made them feel closer, but for some reason, it felt profoundly uncomfortable.

Akane stifled a giggle. "You had an amazing practice interview, so it's only natural."

Of course that was all that she had meant. He was being silly, leaping for the least likely explanations and spooking himself. It was a bias against the unfamiliar, Junpei decided. He needed some time to get used to it, then he could go back to having feelings for Akane, the normal feelings he had always had.

He hoped she couldn’t feel the way he had reacted.

\--

They ended the night cuddling in a pile of blankets and watching an episode of the crime drama that Aoi had been watching earlier. It was from a later season that Aoi hadn’t seen yet, and neither Junpei nor Akane had seen a single episode before, but that didn’t stop them from enjoying it. They were the picture of contentedness, as long as Junpei didn’t think too hard about Akane pressed up against his side. Every time he looked at her, Junpei felt all the deaths he could have died, all the deaths he did die, circling overhead like an omen. Maybe in another timeline, he was comfortable living with Akane, happy in a simple way that didn't require any qualifications. 

Because he was happy. He loved her, and no matter how the rest of the world changed, he suspected he always would. Still, he couldn't shake that omen. He couldn't keep himself from questioning if it was genuine every time Akane smiled at him.

At least through everything, he had Aoi. He knew what to expect from him, especially as he learned all of his little habits. How he squeezed his toothpaste from the top of the tube and bought vegetables that he’d never eat and muttered to himself as he cleaned. Even though Junpei hadn’t known him as long as he had known Akane, he felt like he could understand him better. He was a rock, of sorts. Something dependable.

\--

Aoi leaned against the railing next to him and held out a cup of hot coffee, which Junpei silently took. He didn’t know how Aoi had found him there on the balcony so late that it was early, but the company was nice. 

Junpei took a sip and was surprised to find it sweet. Aoi always took his coffee black and rolled his eyes whenever he saw Junpei dump in spoonful after spoonful of sugar into his.

“I didn’t get the job,” Junpei said, as much to the night as to Aoi. “I got an email earlier. One day after the interview. They’re not even done interviewing candidates and they decided that I’m not good enough.”

“Hm.”

“Guess I’ll be doing nothing for a few more weeks.” Junpei sighed. “I should be doing something, right? That’s why I came here. I had a purpose. I’m supposed to be with Akane or something, but I can’t do that and now I can’t do anything.”

“What do you mean you can’t do that?” Aoi asked, his voice steady, calm, and carrying an unmistakable threat.

“I do love her, but ever since Nevada, I know her. Like, I know about her in a way I never expected I would have to. And I don’t know if I should feel betrayed. Not that I wouldn’t have done anything she needed if I had been given the choice, but I wasn’t. Now I can't be comfortable near her. And that’s weird. It’s weird, right? I guess I’m just not equipped to understand it. It’s hard,” Junpei said, the words rushing out of him at such a velocity that he couldn’t even process whether or not they made sense. “So I’m stuck doing nothing. Guess I’m pretty worthless, huh?”

“Yeah, shut up. You don’t get to decide that.”

“What?”

“If I think you have worth or if my sister thinks you have worth, then you have worth, got it?” Aoi snapped.

“Oh.”

Aoi turned his focus to the horizon. “Do you know anything about changelings?”

“You mean children that get kidnapped and have faeries left in their place?” Junpei asked, startled by the conversational whiplash.

“That’s right. There are stories dating back centuries about faeries stealing away children in the dead of night and leaving behind nearly identical children of their own, or some sort of simulation. The parents wake up one day and realize that they don’t recognize their child anymore.”

“Like their children suddenly had new faces?” Junpei asked, thinking fleetingly of Ace.

“No, not like that. They noticed strange behavior, the kids acting in ways normal people wouldn’t, and they were scared of these supposed replacements. In some cases, they’d torture the children, whipping or burning them in hopes that it would bring the true version of their babies back,” Aoi explained.

“That’s awful.”

“Uh huh. And there are tales like this from a whole bunch of countries. The thing is, the kids weren’t actually replaced.”

Junpei held back a laugh. “You don’t say.”

“Shut up.”

He pantomimed locking his mouth shut and throwing away the key.

“Anyway, the phenomenon was probably an explanation for developmental disorders before those disorders were fully understood. The kids act in ways outside the norm and it destroys the concepts the parents had of the kids. They didn’t live up to the perfect visions the parents had in their head, and sometimes that difference was extreme enough that they thought they weren’t even dealing with their real children anymore,” Aoi explained. “What I’m saying is that it’s normal to be uncomfortable when the idea of a person doesn’t live up to the reality.”

“Can’t say that makes me feel better,” Junpei said. He waited for a response, but Aoi only shrugged. “Hey, have you heard of the Mexican train murder?”

Aoi nodded appreciatively. “Bringing your own stories to the table, huh? Let’s hear it.”

“He had a loco-motive.” Junpei grinned.

Aoi buried his face in his hand. “You’re insufferable. And here I thought we were having a nice moment.”

“Wow. I think we were.” Junpei barked a laugh. “God, it feels so weird confiding in you.”

“Yeah.”

“You know what that means-- it’s your turn to spill your guts. That’s the only way to make things even,” Junpei said, mostly as a joke, a way to dismiss the raw honesty. It had been a risk to share himself like that, one he wasn’t sure he regretted.

Aoi’s silence was long enough that Junpei began to doubt that he would ever speak, that instead he was content to let their conversation hang heavy in the air. Then, to Junpei’s amazement, he spoke. “I don’t hate you. Did you ever doubt?”

“I--”

“Don’t answer that. I don’t want you to.”

“Well, maybe I want to. And I’d say I know you well enough by now to know how you show affection.” Junpei smiled at him gently.

Aoi made an unidentifiable sound, something between a cough and a squeak.

Junpei lifted an eyebrow. “Something the matter?”

“Nah. Must be picking up some crap from the field, from Akane, or-- Just. Had a weird impulse.”

“So, you think we might have had the same impulse, then?” Junpei studied Aoi, the traces of horror on his face, the gooseflesh over his arms raised by the night’s chill. “Hey, are we friends?”

“Weird question.” Then, “I don’t know.”

“Do you want to be something more?” Junpei asked.

Aoi looked away from the horizon to study Junpei the same way he studied him. “Fuck. I think I do.”

Junpei laughed. “Oh man. And this was supposed to be a bachelor pad.”


End file.
